Reflections on Russophobia in Britain in the First Half of the XIX Century

Abstract

This article explores some of the most important aspects of the beginnings and early development of Russophobia in Britain. In the first half of the 19th century public opinion started to shift from Francophobia to Anti-Russian sentiment. The reasons for this were political and cultural. Britons were afraid of the Russian expansionism and felt contempt for the Russians as being less civilized than other European nations. A great impact on the British perception of Russia made Emperor Nicholas I and his conservative and despotic policies. Thus, the period between the Vienna Congress of 1815 and the outbreak of the Crimean War was marked by increasing Russophobia, that shaped the political view of the British people.